As many know, I live in the Milwaukee area. Have always respected and enjoyed Marquette basketball. Rest assured, tomorrow is one of the "games of the year" for me...absolutely need this for bragging rights around here. Our son and I are making a quick trip over to Ames for the game--super pumped to be back inside Hilton again.
Here's a bit of a primer on Marquette.
Shaka Smart is fitting in really well. As I heard on a podcast recently, Shaka (from Milwaukee) is a perfect fit at Marquette. He wasn't a great fit at Texas, but is at Marquette.
Team gets after it on defense, and players really seem to like playing for Shaka. In some ways, he's a fit to Marquette ala TJ to Iowa State.
Other than graduation, there wasn't a lot of offseason turnover...kids stayed in the program, and most of the players we'll see tomorrow night were on the team and played last year. So there's consistency.
As for the individual players, I'll mention the kids averaging over 10 per game:
Starts with Kam Jones. One of the best in the country. Was a #2 last year (Tyler Kolek was their point guard). Averages nearly 20 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds a game. He is absolutely the real deal.
David Joplin is their second leading scorer, and 16 points and 6 boards a game. Don't want to foul him down the stretch--86% free throw shooter. I have some friends who attend every Marquette game, and they tend to think he shows up more in games against weak opponents vs. strong opponents, and not the highest basketball IQ.
Stevie Mitchell...he is the type of player you respect no matter who you're cheering for. Hustles like crazy, leaves it all on the floor. Will do whatever he needs to do to get a win. If you get a chance tomorrow, focus on Stevie every now on then. Stevie averages almost 12 per game, 3.4 rebounds, and tied with Chase Ross at 2.8 steals per game.
Chase Ross is their other scorer over 10 per game, averaging 11.6. Also 4.5 boards and 2.9 assists, plus the 2.8 steals. Fairly well rounded player.
Marquette doesn't go quite as deep at ISU--Jones, Joplin and Ross average over 30 minutes per game. With our defense...maybe we wear them down at crunch time?
One note: Marquette hosts Wisconsin on Saturday. Wisconsin has won the last three matchups, and there's a lot of focus on Saturday's game by Marquette fans--they are desperate to stop the streak. Yes, we have Iowa next week, but for non-football school Marquette, this is a HUGE rivalry.
That's what I got. Go Clones...I can not return to Milwaukee without a W in hand!
EDIT: Forgot to mention, Zaire Lowery was injured on Saturday, and it sounds like he may be out a couple of games. Doesn't have a lot of stats, but has been playing 15 minutes a game. Sean Jones (ACL) has been out since last January, but has been in uniform and practicing. Sounds like not quite ready yet--he averaged 6 points in 16 minutes a game last year.
Here's a bit of a primer on Marquette.
Shaka Smart is fitting in really well. As I heard on a podcast recently, Shaka (from Milwaukee) is a perfect fit at Marquette. He wasn't a great fit at Texas, but is at Marquette.
Team gets after it on defense, and players really seem to like playing for Shaka. In some ways, he's a fit to Marquette ala TJ to Iowa State.
Other than graduation, there wasn't a lot of offseason turnover...kids stayed in the program, and most of the players we'll see tomorrow night were on the team and played last year. So there's consistency.
As for the individual players, I'll mention the kids averaging over 10 per game:
Starts with Kam Jones. One of the best in the country. Was a #2 last year (Tyler Kolek was their point guard). Averages nearly 20 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds a game. He is absolutely the real deal.
David Joplin is their second leading scorer, and 16 points and 6 boards a game. Don't want to foul him down the stretch--86% free throw shooter. I have some friends who attend every Marquette game, and they tend to think he shows up more in games against weak opponents vs. strong opponents, and not the highest basketball IQ.
Stevie Mitchell...he is the type of player you respect no matter who you're cheering for. Hustles like crazy, leaves it all on the floor. Will do whatever he needs to do to get a win. If you get a chance tomorrow, focus on Stevie every now on then. Stevie averages almost 12 per game, 3.4 rebounds, and tied with Chase Ross at 2.8 steals per game.
Chase Ross is their other scorer over 10 per game, averaging 11.6. Also 4.5 boards and 2.9 assists, plus the 2.8 steals. Fairly well rounded player.
Marquette doesn't go quite as deep at ISU--Jones, Joplin and Ross average over 30 minutes per game. With our defense...maybe we wear them down at crunch time?
One note: Marquette hosts Wisconsin on Saturday. Wisconsin has won the last three matchups, and there's a lot of focus on Saturday's game by Marquette fans--they are desperate to stop the streak. Yes, we have Iowa next week, but for non-football school Marquette, this is a HUGE rivalry.
That's what I got. Go Clones...I can not return to Milwaukee without a W in hand!
EDIT: Forgot to mention, Zaire Lowery was injured on Saturday, and it sounds like he may be out a couple of games. Doesn't have a lot of stats, but has been playing 15 minutes a game. Sean Jones (ACL) has been out since last January, but has been in uniform and practicing. Sounds like not quite ready yet--he averaged 6 points in 16 minutes a game last year.
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